Chapter 61
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: A Surprise Cameo
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“Well, I'm off to shoot my scene.”
“Okay!”
Seojun saw Lee Jiseok off and sat down on a chair. Filming a drama felt faster than filming a movie. It felt like there were fewer bust shots and close-ups than in a film.
*If a Monday-Tuesday drama moves at this pace, a daily drama must be absolutely grueling.*
As he was looking around the set, a staff member brought over a pouting boy with a soccer ball tucked under his arm.
“Actor Lee Seojun. You'll be filming with this older boy later. The shoot might take a while, so please wait with him.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The boy sat in the chair Lee Jiseok had just been sitting in. Silence fell between the two children. It would be a bit awkward to film like this, so Seojun spoke first.
“Hello, hyung. I'm Lee Seojun. I'm in the first grade.”
At Seojun's cheerful greeting, the boy's expression softened at the cute kid's face, and he smiled back. *Since I'm already here, I might as well.*
“Hey. I'm Jeong Sihyuk. I'm in the sixth grade. And I'm on the soccer team.”
“The soccer team?”
“Yeah. My dream is to be a soccer player.”
Seojun recalled the script. There was a scene where kids playing soccer in an empty lot give a detective the license plate number of a hit-and-run car. To think they brought in a real soccer player, even if he was just an elementary schooler.
“Um, Seojun. Wanna play soccer? I can teach you.”
Even though he hadn't been sitting for long, Jeong Sihyuk seemed fidgety. He kept picking up and putting down the soccer ball, unable to sit still. Worried the ball might fly off and disrupt the filming, Seojun nodded.
“Should we?”
“Yeah! I'll go ask my uncle!”
Jeong Sihyuk quickly ran over to where the lighting staff was. *Aha. Looks like he got here through a connection too.* As if he'd gotten permission, Jeong Sihyuk ran back with a bright face.
“He said we can play in that empty lot over there. But we can't go too far.”
“Okay.”
As Seojun got up from his chair, Yoon Sungoh, who had been watching over both him and Lee Jiseok, approached. Normally, Lee Jiseok was Seojun's guardian, but when Jiseok was filming, Yoon Sungoh took over.
“Seojun, where are you going?”
“I'm going to play soccer with Sihyuk-hyung in that lot over there.”
“Really? Then I'll come with you.”
“What about Jiseok-hyung?”
“He's an adult, he'll be fine on his own.”
Accompanied by their guardian Yoon Sungoh, the two kids headed to the empty lot. The lighting staff member, who had been glancing their way, seemed relieved and refocused on his work.
“You just kick it with the inside of your foot, like this.”
“Like this?”
“You're good! Have you played soccer before?”
“No.”
He had never played soccer, but he had played with balls before.
[(Good) Golden Seal's Golden Ball - Low Grade]
The Golden Seal never lets the golden ball leave its side.
You can handle the ball with complete freedom.
The user's athletic ability is slightly enhanced when handling the ball.
The Golden Seal gathers the shells of the golden egg it hatched from to create a round ball.
Because they carry this golden ball with them their entire lives, they are a species more skilled at handling balls than any other.
They would strike this golden ball with their tails to attack enemies or hunt for food.
*‘There weren't any monsters that played soccer, but there were quite a few that played with balls.’*
[(Good) Golden Seal's Golden Ball is activated.]
It was fun how the soccer ball stuck to his feet like a magnet, moving wherever he wanted it to.
He'd kicked a soccer ball a few times before, but it was on a completely different level when using the skill.
As if he were a player who had spent his entire life with a ball, Seojun's skills improved noticeably under Jeong Sihyuk's tutelage. At the change, Yoon Sungoh found himself clapping without realizing it.
“Alright! Pass it here!”
Jeong Sihyuk was excited too. His uncle had begged him for this one favor, so he'd come without even getting to practice, but the kid he was filming with was amazing.
Despite the difference in their height and build, Seojun not only passed well but also skillfully stole the ball from Jeong Sihyuk with his quick footwork.
Fired up by this, Jeong Sihyuk also moved his feet diligently. The two boys continued their back-and-forth, stealing the ball from each other, and when they got tired of that, they would move apart and pass again.
After receiving a pass from Seojun, Jeong Sihyuk grinned brightly and shouted.
“Seojun. Is this really your first time? You're really good.”
“Really?”
Seojun laughed, "Ahaha," and kicked the ball. Just as they were playing, Lee Jiseok finished his scene. The staff who had gathered to film in the empty lot were amazed as they watched the children play.
“They're both really good, aren't they?”
“That kid, Sihyuk, is probably one of the top five elementary school players in the country. He was on TV a while back. But Actor Lee Seojun seems amazing too.”
Their passes connected without a single miss, and they would occasionally jostle each other to steal the ball.
It was clear that the bigger Jeong Sihyuk was going easy on him, but Seojun's skill was still impressive.
“Should we include this?”
“Yes. Let's add a little bit at the beginning.”
Director Choi Minseong and writer So Eunjin nodded.
Unbeknownst to the two boys, the camera started rolling, and Yoon Sungoh moved away from them to stay out of the shot.
The scene of the two boys playing was filmed quickly, and then they moved on to the main shoot.
* * *
May 8th.
It was Parents' Day.
After having a blast with his friends at a campsite on Children's Day, Seojun made carnations at school to give to his parents.
The first graders were still too young to use scissors safely, so the teacher had pre-cut red, yellow, and pink petals.
They made the carnations by gluing the petals together, but unlike the other children who were on the verge of tears with glue on their hands and torn petals, Seojun's carnation was as beautiful as one bought from a store.
Seojun had even folded the paper petals himself to create creases, making the shape of the petals different.
“Seojun. How do you do that?”
Jiyoon, who was sitting next to Seojun, asked. Her own carnation, messily covered in glue, looked very different. Seojun's was much prettier. *I want to give my mom and dad a pretty flower too!*
“This? It looks pretty if you fold it and then open it up. You only have to fold it halfway.”
As Seojun demonstrated how to fold the petal, not only Jiyoon but also the friends sitting around them started to copy him. Soon, the children who had been working at their own desks gathered around Seojun.
“Like this?”
“Yeah! You're doing great.”
The teacher, who had been watching Seojun's mature behavior with a pleased expression, rolled up her sleeves when she saw he couldn't make his own carnation because he was busy helping the others.
“Alright. I'll help too.”
Before long, they were all helping each other make beautiful carnations.
While the children were clumsily making carnations for their parents, Seojun's hands were moving busily. At a rapid pace, he beautifully folded and neatly cut—with the teacher's help—the colored paper he had bought with his own allowance, making a bag full of flowers.
When he returned home after taekwondo practice, his mom and dad were waiting for him with excited expressions.
Seojun looked at the clock. It wasn't even 6 o'clock yet, but his dad was home.
“Dad! You're home early.”
“Ahem.”
Lee Minjun cleared his throat at Seojun's words. He couldn't bring himself to say he came home early because it was Parents' Day and he wanted to receive a carnation. Guessing his father's thoughts, Seojun smiled and opened his navy blue backpack wide.
“This one's for Mom. And this one's for Dad!”
Along with a pretty envelope, a carnation was placed in each of his parents' hands.
“Mom, Dad. I love you!”
Seojun gave them both a tight hug. Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun felt their eyes well up with tears without realizing it. They put the carnations and letters down and hugged Seojun back.
*Ah. When did their little baby grow up so much?*
Even though they received a carnation and a letter every year, their hearts fluttered every single time.
“Mom and Dad love you so much too, Seojun!”
Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun pinned the carnations to their clothes and read the letters. Feeling shy, Seojun quickly went to his room and brought back a few boxes he had prepared in advance.
After finishing the letters, his parents were continuously wiping away their tears. Lee Minjun, who had even blown his nose, asked when Seojun pulled out a stream of carnations from his bag.
“Seojun. Why did you make so many?”
“Because there are a lot of people to give them to!”
Seojun placed the carnations in pretty boxes. They had fewer petals than his parents' carnations, but they were still pretty.
“This is for Grandma and Grandpa. This is for my other Grandma. This is for Uncle Chan. This is for Uncle Heesang. These are for the Brown Black hyungs. And this is for Aunt Nara.”
Those were all carnations. Then Seojun took out a new kind of flower.
“I made these because I wanted to give something to other people too.”
They were paper flowers to send to Lee Jiseok and Yoon Sungoh. Director Choi Daeman, Director Ryan Will, Jonathan, Evan Block, Richel Hill. To all the people he was grateful for.
Seo Eunhye and Lee Minjun smiled as they looked at the postcards and flowers going into the boxes.
“Everyone's going to love them.”
Just as his parents said, after mailing the boxes, Seojun's phone rang nonstop.
There was Brown Black, crying their eyes out and saying they never expected to receive something like this, and Kim Heesang, who sent a ton of dolls. The others, as if they had forgotten about the presents they sent on Children's Day, sent even more gifts.
* * *
It had been three weeks since *Re-investigation* started airing. Seojun usually watched the reruns of *Re-investigation* starring Lee Jiseok and went to bed at 9 PM, but today, he decided to watch the live broadcast.
It was finally episode 5 of *Re-investigation*. The episode where Seojun's cameo would be aired.
“It feels a little weird watching it on TV. We always went to the movie theater.”
“I know. Your grandparents said they already have KBC on.”
The couple and Seojun also sat on the sofa, watching the commercials on television.
They always watched the drama because it was fun, but knowing Seojun was in it gave them a strange, different feeling than watching one of his movies.
“They said KBC showed *The Devil* on Sunday.”
“Ugh. I'm not a fan of that one...”
Lee Minjun shuddered at the mention of *The Devil*, and Seojun and Seo Eunhye burst out laughing. Unlike in a movie theater where you had to focus quietly on the film, watching a drama at home had the fun of being able to chat comfortably.
The ratings for the drama *Re-investigation* were high. It had the highest ratings among all Monday-Tuesday dramas from other broadcast companies. The online buzz was also significant, leading to the creation of forums where people could share their thoughts.
[*Re-investigation* Episode 5]
-Seems like Lee Jiseok has a good eye for projects lately. Re-investigation is fun lol
-His play was fun too lol
-Speaking of the play, hasn't KBC been airing a lot of Lee Seojun-related stuff lately?
-Yeah, they aired 48 Hours, probably bought the rights from WNET, and The Story of Shadowman, and even aired The Devil on the weekend. Still so fun to rewatch lol
-TV definitely has a bigger reach than movies lol My friend who only watches TV saw Lee Seojun for the first time. She said she had no idea he was such a good actor after watching The Devil. Now she's watching Shadowman 1 & 2 lol
-OP: Please stick to talking about Re-investigation!
And then, after an unusually large number of commercials, episode 5 of *Re-investigation* began.
Around the middle of the episode, a new case began. The viewers' eyes were glued to the television.
After a suspicious hit-and-run incident, Lee Jiseok headed to the scene to look for clues.
“I have to find something here.”
“Hyung! Pass it here!”
“Alright!”
As Lee Jiseok scanned the alley, the voices of children reached his ears. Following the voices, he found two children playing with a soccer ball in a wide, empty lot. Both the short kid and the tall kid were handling the soccer ball with complete ease.
As they played, trying to steal the ball from each other, their movements were extraordinary. The bigger kid used his size to pressure the smaller one, while the smaller kid moved with incredible speed.
Despite the intense physical contact, the soccer ball seemed glued to their feet, showing no signs of getting away.
“...They're good.”
At Lee Jiseok's words, people involved in soccer who were watching, as well as regular soccer fans, nodded in agreement.
For that brief moment, it felt like watching a serious soccer match.
The coach of a soccer team, who was watching *Re-investigation* because he heard Jeong Sihyuk would be in it, shot up from his seat.
He had been watching to see how bad his acting would be so he could tease him tomorrow, but another kid caught his attention.
“Who's that next to Sihyuk?”
“I don't know? Judging by his height, he looks like an elementary schooler.”
“Even Sihyuk wasn't that good when he was that age...”
The eyes of the coach, who had recognized Jeong Sihyuk's talent early on and recruited him, sparkled as if he had found new prey.
As if they had heard Lee Jiseok's comment, the two boys stopped and looked at him. Lee Jiseok cleared his throat at the sight of the children staring blankly at him and began to speak.
“Do you guys play soccer here every day?”
“Yes.”
The smaller boy with a missing front tooth replied. Both Lee Jiseok and the viewers smiled at the sight of the boy, who looked mischievous but answered smartly.
The viewers' smiles froze. They had been so focused on the unchildlike footwork and physical play that they had only just recognized his face.
Seojun smiled brightly.
“Did you play yesterday too?”
“Yes. But who are you?”
The older boy hid the smaller one behind his back. Unaware of his hyung's protectiveness, the smaller boy peeked out at Lee Jiseok with curious eyes.
“I'm a police officer. There was a hit-and-run just up ahead. I'm investigating it.”
“And?”
“This is the only way out. Did you see any strange cars passing by?”
“I didn't see...”
“I saw one!”
The smaller boy answered quickly. The older boy sighed. He remembered the kid chattering on all last night about a strange car.
“It was driving weirdly. It hit that streetlight and bumped into this wall here.”
“Did you see the car's license plate number?”
“Um... It was similar to our home phone number... 4812. I don't know the first part.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Lee Jiseok nodded. Then he left the alley to investigate the hit-and-run car.
And so, episode 5 of *Re-investigation* ended, and as the credits rolled, a white caption appeared on the screen along with the image of a brightly smiling child.
[Special thanks to our guest actors, Lee Seojun and Jeong Sihyuk.]
-??? Lee Seojun?! For real?
-Wow. I thought Lee Seojun only did movies!
-But Lee Seojun was missing a front tooth lolll I can really feel his age loll
-So that's why he went to see the play with Lee Jiseok.
-Who's the kid next to him? He was really good with the ball.
=That's Jeong Sihyuk, an elementary schooler who's a promising player. Best in his age group lol
=But Lee Seojun was good too lolll Acting genius, soccer genius, is there anything he can't do? loll
=My dad coaches an elementary school soccer team, and he's asking who that kid is and where he lives lolll
Dad: He's going to go abroad and become a world star! (In soccer)
Me: He's already gone abroad and become a world star. (In acting)
Dad: What!?
-So this is why KBC was showing Lee Seojun's movies.
=But the vibe is totally different lol He was so intense in The Devil, but in the drama, he seemed like a real neighborhood kid lolll
=Still a huge switch-up lol Not on the level of Jin Natra, though. That's in a league of its own lol
[Re-investigation, Who Was the Special Guest?]
[Why Are You Here?! Re-investigation's Cameo!]
[Lee Jiseok's Hidden Card! Paid Back in Ratings! Re-investigation's Ratings Explode!]
[Be in the Next Episode Too! Lee Seojun!]
[A Hollywood Actor's Television Debut?!]
-Nooo! If Lee Seojun was going to be in it, they should have said so!!!
-I saw it lol His missing tooth is so cute lol
-I missed it TT I really thought Seojun would never be on TV TTTT
=Same T_T Guess I'll have to watch the rerun T_T Why are the commercials so long TTTT
1. Lee Seojun Re-investigation
2. Lee Seojun drama
3. Lee Seojun cameo
4. Lee Seojun
5. Re-investigation Episode 5 rerun
...
“'Lee Seojun Re-investigation' sounds like Seojun became a criminal.”
“I know, right? But it was fun. You're good at soccer, Seojun. Want to go to a soccer stadium with Dad next time?”
“Yeah!”
Lee Minjun asked while checking the real-time search rankings on his phone. Lee Minjun, who loved almost all sports, smiled brightly at his son's enthusiastic reply. Seo Eunhye also shared her thoughts on the cameo.
“I hope you do another drama. A movie is over after one go, but dramas keep coming out. No, wait. I heard dramas are tough because of last-minute scripts. Ugh. Never mind. Seojun can decide for himself. Mom's happy with whatever you do.”
Seojun beamed at his mother's words.
“I'm going to do something else!”
#